18:16 He reached down 1 from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water. 2
105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, 3
1 tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.
2 tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).
3 tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”